Community Support for Blair Family

⚜⚜The adjustment for the goal is due to their insurance deductible being over $20,000! That's with best case scenario; which we are praying for but want to help them be prepared as possible, without finances being an additional stressor. (This is IF the insurance agrees to pick him up on the plan!!)⚜⚜ As many of you now know, the Blair family has been faced with some difficult medical news over the past couple of weeks. Nathan, Anna & Asa’s 19-year old son, has been dealing with some shoulder pain for a few months and became so unbearable that he asked Anna to take him to the emergency room. Of course you will do anything for your babies, right? Even if you don’t have insurance and knowing how much an ER visit will cost? Yes, the answer is yes. During their ER visit, the Dr. reviewed Nathan’s X-rays and much to his surprise, there was a large bone cyst that could indicate cancer on Nathan’s right shoulder. The Dr. put Nathan in a sling and referred them to the Orthopedic Institute and stressed to them, that he needed an MRI immediately. Of course, then is when the flood of emotions, the panic, the unknown, all began. A bone cyst? What does this mean? How did this happen? A couple (long) days later, they were able to get an appointment with Dr. Pritt at The Orthopedic Institute to get his opinion on the X-ray. His opinion was quite different than the ER Physician. He agreed that there was something there that looked very mild and wanted to schedule an MRI to be sure. He took Nathan out of the sling, which actually was a little sliver of hope for all of them. The MRI was scheduled a few hours later, but of course, the results would take at least 24-48 hours for the Dr. to review. More. Waiting. Around 3:45pm the same day, Anna received the call from Dr. Pritt. This is the call that would make any mother’s heart sink into the ground and cause more anxiety than ever imagined. The Dr. confirmed there was definitely a tumor and it appears to be aggressive. He sent the referral to Shands Orthopedic Oncology, who would be contacting them. Again, MORE WAITING. MORE UNKOWNS. As any mother would do, Anna started calling Shands Ortho the next morning, but of course they couldn’t locate the referral. Finally, the following week, they received a call for an appointment on October 12th at 9:30am with Dr. Scarborough. Dr. Scarborough is one of the best Dr.’s in his field. From what Dr. Scarborough could read from the MRI, he believes the tumor could be benign; however, only a biopsy will be a true answer. He wanted to schedule Nathan for surgery the following day, but unfortunately, insurance was requiring a 48-hour authorization. As it stands now, the full bone scan and CT scans of shoulder and lungs are set for Monday, October 19th and the surgery for the 20th. If the cells they remove look to be benign during surgery, they will remove tumor. If they do not, he will be in for another surgery following radiation and chemotherapy. As you can imagine, this is an extremely hard time for the family. Not only the unknowns, but all the costs that go along with anything major. Not to mention, Nathan literally just moved into an apartment with 2 roommates while working full-time with his dad at B&D Electric. We would like to pull together as a village; as a community; as friends & family; to help alleviate some of the financial burden. We really appreciate any and all help you can give. If you cannot donate, that is totally okay, but we ask that you keep them all in your thoughts and prayers! We will get them through this! Xoxo- Support Sisters ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ UPDATE ON NATHAN'S STATUS: More images were obtained yesterday (10/19), which showed that the tumor has not spread! (PRAISE GOD). He had his first procedure today to obtain the biopsy, they were not able to determine if it's benign or malignant in the OR. So his biopsy has been sent to pathology, and they'll know those results in 2-6 days. If it is benign, then he'll have surgery next Tuesday to have the tumor removed and structures in his shoulder/arm repaired. God forbid, it is malignant then the plan is to utilize radiation to shrink the tumor prior to removal. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!! Your donations are MUCH appreciated! Thank you all for all you're doing!!